It seems unlikely that the Boston Bruins were going to trade Brad Marchand, but it's not happening now.
As the NHL enters its three-day holiday break, the Boston Bruins are playing their best hockey of the season under interim coach Joe Sacco. They entered the break with an impressive 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Monday night with three third-period goals from Brad Marchand, Elias Lindholm, and Charlie Coyle. Even more impressive is that the Black and Gold won the game after David Pastrnak left in the second period with an upper-body injury.
When the Bruins started slow to begin the season, it cost former coach Jim Montgomery his job and it led to speculation that GM Don Sweeney might end up moving some players in trades to shake things up. One name that has been floated about is Trent Frederic who is a free agent following the 2024-25 season. Teams like the rugged forward and see him as part of their future.
One other name that has popped up on NHL Trade Boards is Marchand. Chris Johnston listed Frederic and Marchand on his latest board earlier this month for The Athletic. It seemed far-fetched at the time that Sweeney would move Marchand and it is even more far-fetched after his recent point surge.
Bruins will not be trading captain Brad Marchand
Against the Capitals, Marchand had a hand in all three third-period goals. He made a pass to Lindholm to send his first-year teammate in alone and he faked out Charlie Lindgren and flipped a backhander into an open net. A few minutes later, Marchand took a pass from Coyle and beat Lindgren, but his shot hit the post, where Coyle was able to bury the rebound. Marchand then sealed the three-goal win with an empty-net tally.
Marchand's assist on Lindholm's goal ran his point game streak to 10, which is impressive considering how his season began following multiple off-season surgeries. Right now, the Bruins line of Marchand/Lindholm/Coyle is their best line that can match up with anyone on the opposing team. They can shut down the line defensively and create high-danger scoring chances for the Black and Gold.
It was far-fetched, to begin with, that the Bruins would even consider trading Marchand regardless of where they were in the standings. He is a franchise icon and playing in any other jersey than the Spoked-B will be odd to see. With his recent point streak and the way the Bruins are playing now, Johnston should officially take him off his trade board list as Boston's captain isn't going anywhere.
